


Identities Revealed

by Sakura_no_Umi



Series: Related verse [7]
Category: Miraculous Ladybug
Genre: Adrien Agreste | Chat Noir Needs a Hug, Adrien and Marinette both ship Félix/Bridgette, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, F/M, Gabriel Agreste | Papillon | Hawk Moth Identity Reveal, Identity Reveal, Marinette Dupain-Cheng Knows, Oblivious Adrien Agreste | Chat Noir, Text Messages, mentions of catfishing
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-13
Updated: 2020-07-13
Packaged: 2021-03-04 22:41:33
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,717
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25244068
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Sakura_no_Umi/pseuds/Sakura_no_Umi
Summary: He thought the day his lady discovered the boy behind the cat would be filled with a grandiose gesture on his part. Instead his lady was softly calling his name as the world he knew tumbled before him.
Relationships: Adrien Agreste | Chat Noir & Marinette Dupain-Cheng | Ladybug, Adrien Agreste | Chat Noir/Marinette Dupain-Cheng | Ladybug
Series: Related verse [7]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1820368
Comments: 5
Kudos: 121





	Identities Revealed

**Author's Note:**

> Originally posted on Tumblr on 3/24/2018.

Chat Noir didn’t like the way that Ladybug insinuated she still thought Gabriel Agreste was Papillion. He didn’t like it the first time she suggested it, and subsequently as he watched his father become akumatized all because Adrien had taken that book and misplaced. He thought that incident had irrevocable cleared his father in Ladybugs mind, but then she had stopped him on the Eiffel Tour worrying her lip and almost reluctant to drop the wrist she had grabbed to stop him from leaping away to return home. Normally Chat Noir would give anything for his lady to never let go, but the fear on her face filled him with dread.

“I know who Papillion is,” she started, and Chat Noir almost pulled away instantly.

“Don’t say it,” he almost pleaded, turning his head away unable to face her.

“I don’t want it to be true just as much as you, but Chat Noir everything points to him.”

Chat Noir let out a bitter laugh, “Ladybug, you don’t even know me, despite how much I wish you did. I don’t think even you can claim that taking down Gabriel Agreste effects you.”

“That’s not fair, Chat Noir,” Ladybug responded, dropping his wrist with a stomp of her foot. “I have a life too outside of this. Do I know the man personally? No. Does that mean I can’t care about the ramifications of this?”

“What ramifications can you feel from this? We stop the bad guy, Paris is saved, and you go on about your daily life.”

“Who saves his son then?”

Chat Noir froze. Was his lady stating she cared about all of him, Chat Noir and Adrien. Was she just another fan who was in love with the idea of him, or could she possible know the boy outside of his suit?

“He’ll save himself.”

“He just lost his mother last year, now he could lose his father all because his father thinks that doing all of this will bring his wife back. And its true using the ladybug and cat miraculous can do that, but the cost is another life, for who knows how much more time that will buy her on this earth. He’s grieving and causing all this destruction while chasing a dream he can never really hold in his hands while alienating the people left in his life.

Chat Noir shoulders tensed as his hands balled into fists as he fought to keep the tears out of his eyes. “Why do you care? Why do care about what happens to Adrien?”

“Because Chat Noir, he’s my friend, and I never noticed it before because I was never looking, but I’m pretty sure the boy standing here hidden behind a mask and losing his world is Adrien Agreste.”

“How’d you figure it out?” he asked, shoulders relaxing but he still did not turn to face her.

“You were affected by the Collector incident, and Chat Noir took the longest time to show up during the Bubbler incident where Adrien Agreste was able to have an actual birthday party. You were also one hundred percent certain the Adrien Agreste Volpina was dangling from the Eiffel Tour was a fake when I was ready to give up my earrings instead of chance it. Finally, its the same problem all super heroes face. I never saw Chat Noir and Adrien Agreste in the same place at the same time. It just took til now to realize it because I was never trying to figure out who Chat Noir was.”

“Here I spent this whole time trying to figure out who you were under that mask, with no intention of telling you when I found out, and it was the only person who could never seem to talk to me isn’t it, Marinette?”

“You’re disappointed aren’t you? The girl behind Ladybug is just bland, clumsy, Marinette who always seems to mess everything up,” she spoke, voice soft.

“No,” he responded, turning around and grabbing her hands, “I’m glad to know that Ladybug is just as kind and determined and brave out of costume as she is in it.”

Ladybug's face turned red as her mind caught up the the fact that Adrien Agreste was standing before her and holding her hands. Subsequently, she lost all motor control to form sentences. “You-you-you’re just nice saying that er saying nice to be, I mean saying that to be nice.”

Chat Noir laughed breaking the tense atmosphere that hung around them, while Ladybug watched his nose crinkle under the mask thinking that this was the happiness Bridgette had mentioned was missing.

“Marinette, I couldn’t hate you whether you were just boring Marinette or the Marinette who moonlights as Ladybug. Do I understand Marinette when she isn’t Ladybug? Not very well because I’m still trying to piece together why you act the way you do around me, but that doesn’t mean I don’t see all the good in you even if I thought you still hated me for the gum incident.”

“This is so embarrassing,” she mumbled, burying her face in the hands she snatched away, “you thought I hated you.”

“Well you did when we first met,” Chat Noir pointed out with a cheeky grin.

If possible Ladybugs cheeks burned brighter. “I can’t do this,” she moaned.

“Do what, M'lady?”

“Talk to you when you’re like this.”

“M'lady you wound me. You deduce my identity, confront me on it, and then say we can’t work together. Why, does this cat have your tongue now too?”

“You know exactly what your doing,” Ladybug replied, cheeks still matching the red of her costume and eyes unable to look at him.”

“Do I?” he questioned, leaning on his baton

“I like you okay. There, I said it,” Ladybug proclaimed, before her brain caught up to what she just said. Suddenly, she gasped as her hands flew to her mouth and blue eyes pleaded that she was anywhere but there.

Chat Noir’s felt ears twitched as he stood up. Oh. Oh. Oh. He had not been expecting that, but suddenly everything about Marinette made sense. How had he not realized it before? How was he the only person in their class to not realize it?

“Oh my god, you hate me don’t you,” she moaned, his silence and puzzled expression having eaten away at her.

“No, no, no,” he quickly reassured her, “It’s just I realized how right Nino is when he says I’m so clueless, but tell you what we save Paris, put this whole Papillion debacle behind us, and we can finally go catch that movie.”

“You’re not mad about earlier,” she asked, hesitantly.

“Still processing, and we can’t let Papillion or anyone else know that something has changed. I’m not going to lie this is going to be hard, but I want to know there is something to look forward to at the end of this hell?”

“Will you be able to stay in Paris, or…?”

Chat Noir looked at her for a moment before he understood the hidden question. A laughter overtook him forcing him to clutch his sides. “Oh, I’m not going anywhere. He can do all his ass-kissing for the past six years here in Paris. If he’s nice I won’t tell Bridgette.”

Ladybug stared at him, wheels slowly turning in her head.

“I have an older brother, he’s been abroad for six years now,” Chat Noir supplied, noticing her puzzled face.

“Felix?” she gasped.

“Yeah. How did you know?” Chat Noir replied, genuinely surprised.

“I’m going to strangle Bridgette while I simultaneously hug her,” Ladybug muttered, wringing her hands.

It was Chat Noir’s turn to cock his head in puzzlement.

“Bridgette is my cousin who has been obsessed with your brother since high school. She just failed to ever mention his last name,” Ladybug replied.

“Please don’t strangle her. Bridgette is the best, and really good for Felix even though he’ll never admitted it.”

“Oh he’s admitted it,” Marinette replied, with a smirk, “to ‘Caitlin’ which is the girl he hasn’t realized is Bridgette who he gets along with wonderfully.”

Chat Noir tried to hid his laughter behind his hand, before relenting and replying, “Please let me be there when he finds out.”

“I’m sure half of Paris will know when he finds out, if the stories Bridgette tells of him are true.”

“This is catfishing, Bridgette! What the hell do you think it would accomplish?” Chat Noir spoke, impersonating his brother

“I’m sorry but you were pinning about Bridgette in your own weird way to Caitlin so I hardly see how you’ve been duped,” Ladybug joined in playing the part of her cousin.

“That’s not the point and you know it.”

“I know I’m right, but you will never admit it Felix Agreste so just stop pouting and go ahead and propose already.”

Ladybug and Chat Noir locked eyes no longer able to contain their mirth as their laughter rang clearly though the quite Parisian night. The had a long battle ahead full of heartache and sorrow, but at least they could face it with together with what little laughter they could squeeze out of even the tensest of moments. Tomorrow they would have to face the harsh reality of what was to come, but tonight, they could afford to laugh their fears away for the moment.

  
  


* * *

— Bonus —

Felix groggily reached for his phone where it had vibrated on his night stand to signal several text messages had arrived. Jet lag still held him firmly in his grips, and he had yet to formulate a plan to announce his entrance back into France and into his brother’s life (his father could go to hell for all he cared).

Seeing Bridgette’s name pop up pushed the sleep out of his brain as it turned into overdrive for worry over Adrien. This was replaced with sheer disgust when he saw the offending messages she had sent him.

_To: Felix_

_My cousin and Adrien just confessed their love for each other <3 <3 <3_

_If they get married that means well totes be related!!!!!!!_

_And you thought you could get rid of me. Ha! No one gets rid of Bridgette Cheng_

_11:01_

_To: Bridgette_

_I hate you._

_11:02_

_To: Felix_

_Love you too! <3_

_11:02_


End file.
